Opposite side of the tracks
by brancan2
Summary: Mikan, the loner girl the second she stepped into Alice academy. Natsume, the golden boy. The popular leader of the student body, who hated her on sight. He hated the way she stared at him, her eyes cold. He hated the way she always seemed indifferent when he was around. And he hated the way she made his heart race. He hates her, So he's going to make her suffer.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**HEY GUYS! New story, but this ones for NatsumexMikan, a gakuen alice pairing that i love! I hope you enjoy! **

**Prologue**:

She was crying.

His eyes widened when he saw tears running down her face, her arms wrapped around her knee's, the scratches and bruises evident all over her skin.

_Why? _Why was she crying? She never cried when he hit her or insulted her. She only glared at him. No one had ever managed to even make her eyes water. People even tried throwing her over the Needle just to get her scared.

But she never even flinched!

So what was going on?

"Hey, you baka. Whats up?" He called, walking towards her, his red eyes narrowed.

She glanced up at him, her eyes dull and uninterested. She stared at him for a moment before slowly untangling herself and standing to her full height For a second she just stood there, but when he was only a foot away she broke into a trot down the street.

He would've gone after her but froze when she lifted a hand, her middle finger pointed up. She was obviously telling him to piss off.

He laughed softly. Of course, he mustve been seeing things. The great Mikan crying?

No way.

Turning towards the direction of his house, Natsume walked out of the courtyard and ignored the giggling girls who yelped his name in unison. When he was safely out of school grounds, he spotted Ruka sprinting towards him, two bottles of beer in his hand.

Natsume waved at him and kept walking, only slower so he could catch up.

When they walked side by side in silence, drinking their beers, Natsumes thoughts strayed to Mikan. Why had she looked as if she was crying? Why had she seemed so sad? And why did she have all those bruises?

The students couldn't have done it right? He had given them orders to leave the physical abuse to him, so of course not.

For once in his life, Natsume was perturbed.

And it was over the one girl he hated the most.

* * *

On the other side of town, a girl was running, her head down, and her bangs hiding her bloodshot eyes. No one could tell by her face that she was panicking. They could only assume she was hurrying somewhere. She bumped into several people, but ignored their shouts of anger and kept running.

He had almost broken her, and he had actually been there to see her cry.

She would _never_ let him see that side of her again. If he did, that would be her doom. And she'd worked too hard to make sure he knew she wasnt going to give in. If he found out now...

Mikan held back a strangled sound.

No. He was never going to find out.

He would never find out her true feeling for him._ Ever. _


	2. Chapter 2: How dare you?

**Hey again guys :) **

**This is the first chapter, official chapter, of Opposite side of the tracks. **

**I'm**** just starting to get confident about my writing, but I would still love it if you reviewed. **

**But anyways, just enjoy the story! :p **

* * *

**Chapter one: **

* * *

_"Your a monster."_

_"I hate you."_

_"Go away you freak!"_

_"Your not worthy to come to this school!"_

_"You disgust me!"_

_The students voice's seemed to fill her mind, pushing out the determination she always shown them she had She couldnt take it, she was always so cheerful and happy. She wasn't prepared for such hate..._

_Why? Why was he doing this to her? Was it because she was poor? Was it because she threw **noodles** on him? How stupid was he? _

_Mikan struggled to get to her feet, her bloody knee's and burnt palms stinging. She ignored the sneers and shouts and turned towards him. The man who started this whole thing. Natsume Hyuuga. His bloody eyes were cold and uncaring. And full of hate. _

_For her._

The voice's were horrible. And they wouldn't stop. Her headache was getting worse, and the sweat running down her body chilled her. Mikan groaned and pressed her pillow to her ears, trying to suppress the haunting taunts and snickers. She couldn't stand it! Why did they hate her so much? Why did they-

"Mikan?"

The brunette's eyes flashed open, and she abruptly sat up and glanced towards the door. Hotaru was there, her short black hair ruffled and messy, her eyes tired. The purple sleeping gown she wore was perfectly smooth though, and Mikan remembered she had left for the bathroom a while ago. For a second brown eyes met violet ones, and they had a staring contest from across the room.

Mikan looked away just a lightning flashed across the dark sky, and thunder boomed through the night. It matched Mikan's empty and mourning spirit perfectly. Mikan whimpered, burying her face in her pillow.

Hotaru stared at her for a moment, her silence somehow calming Mikan once she managed to look up again. Hotaru was a peace, she wasn't bothered by the storm or Mikan's agony. Which Mikan was grateful for. Someone had to say sane in this situation, and keep Mikan down to earth.

Hotaru did her job perfectly.

"Can you...sleep with me tonight Hotaru?" Mikan asked sheepishly, smiling at her best friend. Hotaru stared at her blankly for a moment as the thunder and lightning lashed several times, before her face softened a little and she shrugged.

"Sure, baka."

And for the first time in days, with the indifferent girl beside her, Mikan slept in peace.

Without nightmares, without weariness, without pain.

_'Suck that you stupid Hyuuga.'_

* * *

Natsume was livid.

He had thought it would have been another normal, boring day at Alice academy.

He had skipped practically every class like usual, but that annoying man Persona had caught him and threatened to punish him with severe means if he didn't get to class. Remembering the deep scar on the back of neck, Natsume decided to listen to him for once, but not after setting his office in flames.

_Then_ he was able to leave satisfied.

But then she had appeared when he was in the courtyard, slamming into him while he was chatting to ruka, and she had thrown, or dropped, noodles all over his uniform. And had the audacity not to apologize. Instead she had slapped him. _Slapped_ him! Who would dare to even touch his skin with their filthy hands?

Sure, he did call her an ugly oaf and an idiot. But what average IQ person would forget to watch where they were going?

_Especially_ if he was in the premises.

The way she had glared at him after he stared at her and told her to pay for damages, was unbelievable. She had looked at him as if he was below her, as if he was some whiny 2 year kid who was having a tantrum.

And _then_ she slapped him.

"Your such a snob,How gross. You need a teddy bear or something." She had muttered when he stared at her in shock, clutching his red cheek. Then she had walked away, the now amazed student body parting like the red sea as she passed through and entered a plain black truck.

And he had just stood there, staring after her.

The most disgusting part though, was that he couldn't stop thinking about her for the rest of the day afterwards. The students had tortured her without his consent much to his relief, and he was smug about that, but instead of giving in and apologizing like he'd offered her today...

She'd just stared at him with pure hatred, and told him to fuck off.

And like the idiot he was, he only stared at her. she'd walked away again, rolling her eyes when he didn't say a word, only opened and closed his mouth, outrage frozen on his face.

He had to do something about her, and soon. He couldn't handle this humiliation. And the way Ruka had looked at him, with pure pity, was embarrassing He had looked like an idiot, and unlike his usual uncaring reaction, he had not only gotten humiliated, but felt humiliated. That was a first.

And it was going to be _last_ the time to.

Luckily tomorrow was Saturday, and she had detention. That would be the perfect place to strike. After all, the teacher's wouldn't dare try to send him away. He was the richest student in the school, and he father had complete control over the funds. She would regret ever crossing him.

_No one mess's with me and gets away with it. _

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN! :p **

**Next chapter is the first school scene :p**

**Plzzz favorite, follow, and review! :p **


	3. Authors note

**Authors note-**

**-This is not an update-**

* * *

I am so sorryyyy that I disseapeared! Lots of crazy things going on, add a whole bunch of annoying last minute events and a new baby sister? Well...

Yeah.

Anyways, expect a chapter in a few days okay? I really have to fix some things that are going on. Usually I would write one up in like, 10 minutes. But my brains fried, so that chapter would be sucky.

I hate sucky chapters, dont comment on that if you think my last two cliche chapters were sucky.

Anyways, sorry again!

* * *

**(Yeah, I know, short!**


	4. Chapter 3: Detention

**Opposite side of the tracks-4**

"To be or not to be, that is the question...oh forget it!"

Mikan threw the paperback book quoting Shakespeare on the ground, and stomped down the hall. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't find anything interesting to do for detention. Studying was out of the question because she'd already memorized every line and every equation 10 times over.

And it was pointless to just sit still in study hall. The teacher, who was an overweight woman with glasses and mouse brown hair, could care less what they did. For she only sat there reading a romance novel, ignoring all of them. And when two boys began to get rowdy with spit balls she stomped out of the room and didn't return.

That was when the room erupted into chaos.

Though there was only 8 boys and 2 girls, Mikan and a short blond girl who was surely not Japanese, the room managed to be completely trashed in exactly 2 minutes. Seeing that the blond girl was frightened, Mikan had silently took her hand and snuck out the room unnoticed.

She'd gotten her proof of attending detention, so who cared if she left a little early?

The blond girl had left with a timid whisper of thanks, and Mikan had leaned against a random locker and attempted to read the English Shakespeare play. It was hopeless of course. American and England cultures were so different from common Japanese culture.

Not to mention there were so many themes she couldn't understand.

Groaning, Mikan walked swiftly through the grand school, not bothering to admire the elegant and regal displays like she had when she first came to this school. She'd learned not to judge a book by its cover.

So the glass walls overlooking the school gardens and the large marble pedestals and smooth, shiny floors didn't sway her anymore. For once in her like, she was starting to hate something. And though it wasn't a nice feeling, she felt the school deserved it.

How could all these wealthy people flaunt and whine over selfless things when people like her had to work hard each day to just get a little money to eat or pay the bills. She was so lucky she got a scholarship there in the first place.

She had no idea what had sparked the schools interest in her. She got good grades, but they weren't exceptional. And she didn't exceed in anything like sports or art. In fact, she was only known for her upbeat personality. But surely the school didn't need a spirit up-lifter.

On second thought, they actually did need one. But it probably wouldn't help a anything.

Smoothing out her uniform, Mikan walked down the corridor towards the main entrance. Hotaru had made her promise to meet her at Junjo's noodles, a nice little restaurant at the center of the town. Mikan would change out of her uniform and then take a bus.

Hopefully Hotaru wouldn't mind if she was late, because she was tired and probably wouldn't reach her in time before the-

Suddenly a hand shot out and covered Mikan's mouth from behind. 4 more hands grabbed her arms and elbows, making her immobile.

Suddenly fearful, Mikan twisted around, trying to wrench the persons hands off of her face. But the person was to strong, and he or she made a swift motion. Mikan heard something crack before a piercing pain overtook her body and she fell to her knee's.

She winced as the person and their comrades lifted her to her feet again, one of them putting a cloth to her mouth. This time she didn't try to fight back, because her arms, back, and neck were sore. The men, she realized they were male now, carried her outside towards the parking lot on the side of the schools main building.

The cloth had a Wine like scent to it and made Mikan woozy, and eventually drowsy. Before everything went black, she spotted a limo with a teenage boy leaning against it.

For a moment all she saw was his suit and a blurry pale face without features. But eventually, despite her failing consciousness, she recognized the face. And when she did, her eyes widened in horror before she finally blacked out.

Blood red eyes?

Natsume Hyugga...

**Okay so I wrote this in about 30 minutes, and I had to end it here because, believe it or not, no one knows I write online and that I write romance. Its like a secret thing for me. So I can never be on here to long because they'll wonder what I'm doing :p **

**How'd you like this chapter? Does it make you excited? Tense? Seriously I used to be the reader not the writer so this is so new for me :p **

**Btw check out my other stories please! And thanks for all the support, I was so surprised at the likes on this story, I truly didnt expect it XD**


	5. Chapter 4-5: Hyuuga Mansion

_**Sorry for the long wait :) Btw, this is based of off hana yori dango, meteor showers, and boys over flowers :)** _

_A wise father once said;_

_"Troubles are troubles only if they trouble you." _

_Which was so damn obvious even a twit would understand. But I guess I have a lower brain level then a mere twit if it took me an entire high school year of drama, pain, and love to make use of those words. _

**Confession of a 24 year old married baka-**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Oi', my head hurts...'

Mikan's brown eyes fluttered open and for a second all she saw was blurry white. Groaning, mikan raised a cool hand to her head she she waited until her vision cleared. She soon realized she was staring at a ceiling that was made out of...pure glass?

Mikan sat up abruptly and winced in pain as her temples throbbed and hot liquid rushed up her throat._ 'What the hell happened yesterday?'_ Mikan thought sourly as she looked all around her, her eyes widening slowly as she took everything in. She was on a large, hospital bed. But she wasn't in a hospital room. Clearly.

It was like a museum version of her school.

Glossy white walls, and a black floor so smooth and sleek it looked like liquid. Glancing down, Mikan's eyes widened when she saw she wasn't wearing her school uniform anymore, but a beautiful white cocktail dress that went down to her knees. Glancing around the large room, Mikan saw that her uniform wasn't in sight.

_'Just my luck...'_

Sighing, Mikan tossed her legs over the bed and wobbled to her feet, trying not to slide across the black marble floor. Her whole body felt like she did after an entire day of scrubbing the house. Lazy.

'Left, right, left, right...' Mikan thought and slowly began to walk towards the large double doors across the room. She didn't know where she was. But she knew Natsume Hyuuga wasn't far. As fuzzy as her memory was, she definitely remembered the mischievous glint in his eyes before she blacked out.

Which had led her to wonder exactly _why _he had done what he did. The thought that he wanted to kill her in cold blood was obviously absurd and paranoid on her part. But to bring her to some huge mansion, at least thats what she assumed she was in, and put her in some expensive dress?

Once she reached the glass double doors, Mikan's eyes widened when she saw her reflection in the glass. Her brown hair was let down and reached her waist in endless waves. A simply headband made out of woven white flowers were nestled in her hair, and Mikan vaguely noticed a layer of pink gloss on her lips. She didn't look anything like herself, but a very cute garden fairy or something. A shoeless garden fairy at that.

Blinking, Mikan shook her head. Trying to come out of her daze. She didn't know what he was up to. He was unpredictable and almost conniving. Though she'd only known him for 2 weeks, she'd figured that out very quickly. Why he would spend money to do this for her, she wasn't sure. But hopefully she could pay him back the money quickly and leave.

How much could the dress be anyway? 15 dollars? 20?

Sighing, Mikan reached her arm out and turned the knob on the glass door. It didn't budge.

_Damn..._

* * *

**Other side of Hyuuga mansion- 's office.**

"I don't fucking care that someone burned down her house, if she doesn't sign that contract then deal with her!"

Natsume glared at the phone in his hands,wishing he could reach through and choke his fathers secretary on the other end. Did he have to do everything himself? It was like he was the only person with smarts in his family. Forcing himself to listen to the women's words and not have another outburst, Natsume barely registered when the door to the large office opened and a thin woman walked in.

She wore a frilly red blouse, a black pencil skirt, and red high heels. Her shoulder length black hair and blood red eyes, contrasted with her pale skin and made her look inhumane. But her kind eyes and sweet smile made her instantly recognizable. Aoi Hyuuga, Natsume's 15 year old sister.

A blond woman in a simple white uniform trailed from behind Aoi, sweating and frantically speaking into a cell phone. Natsume's eyes narrowed at the intrusion, but he sighed when Aoi gave him a pointed look.

"Okay fine, bring her to Headquarters and make sure to not leave any trails for the police. Goodbye." Slamming the phone on his mothers desk, Natsume stood to his full height and glared at his sister, who smiled in return.

"Is there a reason that your not in America right now. I thought you were not to return until mother decided you were stable enough." Natsume growled, and his aura grew darker by the second when Aoi giggled.

"You know mum would never let me come home after the incident. So I took care of it myself."

"What about the guards? The counselors? The Electric wires? How are you not dead?"

"The guards and counselors are dead Natsume. But that isn't why I'm here."

Natsume couldnt hide the shock and confusion on his face. To say he was stunned was an understatement. Behind the sweet facade Aoi had was a cunning monster. No wonder his mother had her sent away. Clearing his throat, Natsume sat back down in his chair and folded his arms. He already knew that now that Aoi was back, he life was going to get alot harder.

"Then why are you?" Natsume asked softly, turning his head to meet Aoi's eyes. The two stared at each other for a long, silent moment. The woman who was with Aoi blanched at the intensity before slowly backing away. But Aoi sensed her departure and snapped her gaze to her. She smiled coolly.

"Ah, Misaki! I almost forgot...Natsume, this is my agent. She pulled some strings so I could catch a plane here. Misaki, this is Natsume. My big adorable brother."

The blonde's brown eyes widened and she quickly slipped her phone her handbag before turning towards a now bored Natsume.

"Aoi informed me that you would take care of her until I managed to find her a place to hide. But she also said she hadnt announced her visit beforehand. I hope there wont be any problems...?"

Natsume rubbed his temples. This was happening too fast and he already had enough on his plate with school and that infuriating girl. Speaking of which...he hadnt checked on her since the night before. He'd left her with the makeover artists he had hired. And of course he was stupid to think she was going to actually stay asleep...

Shit!

"No, Aoi is perfectly safe here. So if you'll excuse me..." Natsume sat up abruptly and shoved past his sister, who called after him. He slammed the door to the office behind him, leaving a bewildered Aoi and a frowning agent.

* * *

Mikan took a deep breath and grinned at her handiwork.

The large blankets on the hospital bed were now tied in knots to form a long, thick rope down the large glass window in the back of the room. It had taken a while, but Mikan had forced the window open using a large iron heating rod she'd found. She wasn't quite sure, but she guessed it was for curling hair.

Unfortunately she had to rip a large chunk of her dress of so the rope was safely near the next balcony. The house was much taller then she'd anticipated. Brushing her brown hair out of her eyes, Mikan lifted her leg over the window seal and was just about to lower herself down the 'rope' when the end of the first blanket unraveled from the headboard of the bed.

Mikan's eyes widened as the sheet snapped and she hurled towards the ground. She felt sharp fear run through her as she fell in midair and watched the ground come closer at an alarming rate.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Mikan waited for the impact.

But none came. Slowly opening her eyes, Mikan gasped when she realized she'd landed on a boy. A very muscaler, very blond, very cute boy who looked vagually familiar...

"Ruka!"

Mikan turned towards the deep voice that rang through the front yard of the house. Swallowing hard, Mikan quickly lifted herself from the now unconscious teenage boy as an angry Natsume raced towards them.

* * *

**How did you like this chappie? :p **

**Yeah I know, a bit of a cliff hanger, lol, but I've been writing this for a while so I decided to end it here before the drive in this chapter runs out...**

**Btw, thanks for all the support! I'm so glad that people still love gakuen alice! Its the most adorable show ever! And the manga isnt bad either ;) **

**Natsume-16**

**Mikan-16**

**Ruka-16**

**Aoi-15**

**Hotaru-16**

**Mrs. Hyuuga - 39 **

**Angel(Future OC- 17 **


	6. chapter 6: Apologize

_**Little girl-Mommy tell me how you met daddy...**_

_**Woman-Well, that isn't exactly a fairy tale darling...**_

_**Little girl-I don't care! I want to know how you fell in love!**_

_**Woman-We didn't fall in love right away sweetheart. We actually hated each other for a while...**_

_**Little girl- So...your a masochist?**_

_**Woman-*Chokes in surprise* Where the heck did you learn that word!? **_

_**Little girl-*smiles innocently* You'd be surprised at what I overhear in your room at night mommy. **_

_**Woman-*Stares*...**_

_**(Haha, this was a blurb of a friends story that I thought would be hilarious if put it in a gakuen alice fic. I could already imagine Mikan as the woman and the little girl as her daughter :p **_

_**Enjoy! And sorry I keep taking a while to update...**_

* * *

_**Opposite side of the tracks-6**_

Mikan's breath caught in her throat as she watched the angry crimson eyed man lift the blondes head on his lap, checking for injuries. When he saw none, a flash of relief flew across his eyes before they hardened once more. Turning towards Mikan, Natsume didn't react to the jolt that shook his body once he saw her surprised hazel eyes, instead he let his anger take over.

" What the hell is wrong with you." He said, his voice a deep growl.

Mikan blanched and automatically she began rubbing her forearm, the habit she did whenever she was nervous. This was bad. It was bad enough she almost got killed because of her terrible handiwork, but she almost killed another person too.

Now she was in hell, trying not to run off because of Natsume's hard gaze that seemed to make her whole body shake in fear. Usually she wouldn't be afraid. She would be flat out annoyed and maybe screaming at the arrogant man. But she was shaken from her close call, and couldn't bring herself to say anything out of order. All too quickly, Mikan turned her attention back to the blonde.

He was definitely familiar, she realized. Bending down next to Natsume, Mikan ignored the way the dark haired man stiffened and she pulled down the blonde's collar. Nothing was broken, obviously. But something was wrong because, even though unconscious, an expression of pain covered his face. Mikan bit her lip and turned to meet Natsume's eyes.

" It was an accident...I'm sorry. I'll help you carry him kay? Here, I'll hold his legs, you hold the underside of his arms...yeah, now lift!"

Natsume didn't know why his anger left so quickly when the brunette began helping him carry his best friend in the house. But the look of guilt and regret in her eyes, and the silent apology she sent him when they brought Ruka to a guest bedroom and Aoi's secretary gave them the heads up that Ruka would be fine...

Natsume just couldn't stay angry at her.

She wasn't yelling at him, glaring at him, nor insulting him. Surprisingly, she was quiet compared to their encounters at school. She didn't say a singly negative word to him the whole time that Misaki checked over Ruka and his private nurses had examined him. He did notice the look of awe at how powerful and in control everyone was despite how serious the situation seemed to be.

She stuttered when Aoi asked her if she was injured, and she made sure to stay out of the way of the staff. A look of discomfort confused aura surrounded her. Natsume couldn't help but smile at that, this was the first time he saw her squirm.

_'This is idiot is nothing but trouble...so why am I keeping her beside me?'_

* * *

_'I wish I could be of some help...I mean, if im going to stay here, I might as well do something useful...'_

Mikan smiled shyly and sidestepped out of a pretty nurse's way who was writing something down on a clipboard. Mikan was still amazed at how fast medical attention has arrived. The woman glanced down at Mikan and returned the smile, though a look of confusion fleeted across her small almond eyes.

_'A teenage girl? In the Hyuuga mansion?'_ Mikan frowned when the woman looked her up and down, a hint of steel behind her gaze. Sliding the clipboard under her forearm, the nurse folded her arms and gave Mikan a stern look.

"Are you one of Natsume's followers little girl?" The red headed nurse asked in a tone a mother would have while scolding a child. Mikan's eyes widened in surprise, and her cheeks flushed. A follower of Natsume? Her? As if!

"N-no ma'm. I'm just a...visitor?" Mikan scoffed right after her remark. She was far from a visitor, more like a hostage taken against her will. But she had a feeling telling this woman Natsume had kidnapped her wouldn't go over well.

The woman raised an eyebrow at Mikan's questioning tone and looked as if she was about to say something. But she quickly shut her mouth when Natsume walked up beside them.

"Something wrong Shera?" Natsume said, standing only inches away from Mikan. Mikan tried to ignore the heat from his body that seemed to be making her feel things she defintly didnt want to feel after denying she was a fan girl, but 'Shera' only lowered her gaze to the floor.

"No problems at all Natsume kun, I think I shall be going now." And without another glance at Mikan, Shera turned and walked away, her white nurse's uniform swaying around her pale legs. Mikan didnt miss the dirty smirk Natsume sent after the nurse, and scoffed, turning Natsume's strong gaze to her.

"Whats so funny baka?"

Mikan scowled at the nickname, but remembering their predicament at the moment, choice to ignore it.

"Nothing Natsume, I just want to say sorry again for falling on your..."

Natsume's expression turned blank.

"Friend."

'Yeah...your friend. And I'm willing to stay here until he wakes up to give him a proper apology as well."

Natsume's expression didn't change, but Mikan could tell by the way his eyes brightened that she had said something wrong again. _'Why is everything a two-edged sword with this guy?'_

__Natsume chuckled at the frightened look on his arch enemies face and leaned against the wall closest to them, a carefree smile adorning his face. Mikan watched him like a hawk, knowing whatever he said next wasn't going to make her like him more than she already did in the least.

"Well, Polka dots, I'm pretty sure Ruka wont need an apology. He probably wont remember the accident anyway."

Mikan's hazel eyes narrowed down to suspicious slits.

"Why did you call me Polka dots...and why wouldn't he remember?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Why else would I ask stupid? Thats the purpose of a question, for someone to answer!"

Natsume didn't react to her calling him stupid. He was starting to get immune to her constant name calling, it was her glares that he had to work on getting used to. His smile was gone, but Mikan could still sense the cockiness in his aura. She was really starting to wonder why god had given her such a troublesome life.

_ 'Should I commit suicide before I die of annoyance?'_

_'As much as I hate this girl, I must admit...she's the first amusing girl I've met in ages. Its fun to catch her off guard and make her squirm...' _

__"I told them not to change your underclothes because I'm quite sure your body would only disgust them, since your so boney and shapeless and all. Which is a surprise, because with the amount of force you hit Ruka, I'd say you almost put him in a coma. How much _do_ you weigh anyway?"

Snap! went Mikan's knuckles as she punched the jerk across his nose, with so much force that her fist turned pink.

Natsume crashed to the floor, causing and uproar of gasps and screams as nurse's turned to stare and gawk. Mikan didn't pay any attention to them though, for the amount of shock and anger that filled her at that moment, was only focusing on a certain crimson eyed jerk who was staring up at her, emotionless.

"You are such a...a...ugh! I don't even know what to freaking call you anymore! I've never done anything to you besides drop a bowl of ramen on you, so does that mean you have to ruin my life? Thats bullshit and you know it, so don't you _EVER_ come near me again you evil jerk!"

Mikan stuck out her tongue before stomping off down the corridor, pushing past a group of baffled nurses, some of who went to help Natsume to his feet. But he didn't even spare them a glance. Instead he pushed their hands off of him and stood up by himself, avoiding the confused gaze of Aoi and her secretary, who had just entered the room just before Mikan ran out.

Natsume brought his fingers to his throbbing nose, and stared at the blood that stained his fingers, earning a gasp from Aoi, who began running towards him. He had no thoughts, no feeling. The pain didn't affect him as much as it should have, and only left him dazed.

How a girl that small could punch so hard was a mystery to him, and after a moment of staring at his hand, a small grin etched its way on the Hyuuga's face, until he was grinning a sinister smile from ear to ear.

A cold, deep laugh filled the mansion, making Aoi shudder and Misaki stare at the darkly handsome Hyuuga, who was now walking out the room, his bloody hand undoing his collar.

"N-natsume kun..." Aoi called after him, a sad look in her eyes once she realized how angry and hurt he was. She had no idea who that girl was, but she could tell by the way Natsume stared after her in a dazed look that she important. She would research on her later, but for now she had to stop Natsume from killing someone. His aura was that dangerous.

And as Natsume walked swiftly down the hall, the sadistic smile still on his face, Mikan, who was already 2 blocks away, felt a shudder run through her body. Suddenly feeling cautious, she began to run down the street, dudging cars and clutching her uniform that she'd found at the front door.

_'Why do I feel as if I just endangered myself even more...'_

* * *

**Soooo sorry for the long wait! Believe it or not I had been trying to get online for a while now, and as I'm turning 15 soon, my moms putting more responsibility on me, saying 'its time you learned how to live in the real world'. **

**Yeah, and she doesn't know I write online. Or that I like romance. Because she'd kill me shred me to bits. **

**Well, maybe not, but she's alot stricter then you'd think. **

**Anyways, I'm so excited that a new chapters coming up for gakuen alice! I cant wait for it to get translated, and I cant wait to see how cute Natsume and Mikan and everyone are! Hopefully I'll be alerted in time so I can read the english version :p **

**Btw, love you all! Tell me what you think of this chapter, check out my profile, and if your feeling generous; chuck out a review :p **

**Or just tell me personally what you think I should do to make this story better :) **


	7. Chapter 7:Plans unlearned(Aoi, Hotaru)

_**Too tired to write a long author's note...sorry**_

_**I wrote this while listening to Set fire to the rain, and watching an Amv called Munto-release me**_

_**Munto is really amazing ya'know?**_

_**I'm sorry that I've been gone again and I promise I'll try to be more consistent from now on. **_

_**Life is terrible. **_

_**Anyways, enjoy as my tired fingers and tired mind worked despite everything that's happening right now.**_

_**Btw, please check out my other stories if you can :) **_

* * *

_**Opposite side of the tracks-7**_

Hotaru wasn't a very complicated person of sorts.

She was actually quite the opposite really. Its just most people thought that quiet, observant persona combined with her flair for inventing things called for some sort of secret side of her that she hid behind closed doors. It was a preposterous thought really.

But occasionally Hotaru strayed from her 'quiet, observant, and indifferent' persona. It was rare, but it happened on occasions that called for it. Like right now, since Mikan was raging around Hotaru's bedroom.

_'He friggin' saw my underwear!'_

_'Gah, my bloods boiling and I'm going to kill him one day!'_

_'Who does he think he is!' and_

_'Am I really bony like he said...!? Oh god I think I am!' _

Those were the many outbursts that Hotaru heard every few seconds.

Mikan had barged into Hotaru's large front yard earlier that day, her face flushed and she had her school uniform bundled in her hands. The first thing Hotaru had noticed when the butler brought Mikan to her office was that Mikan's hair was let down. And it looked different. Different as in; more glossy, healthier.

The second thing Hotaru noticed was that Mikan was wearing a cocktail dress.

Those two things combined with Mikan's hard breathing and her flushed face made Hotaru come to a conclusion.

Mikan had gotten into another crazy scenario.

_Duh. _

Sighing, Hotaru closed her clipboard, in the middle of designing her latest invention much to her annoyance, and stood up from her chair beside Mikan.

"Mikan, be quiet."

The brown haired girl stopped mid sentence in cursing the mysterious 'he' she kept mentioning and blushed when she realized she had been raging for over and hour and she still hadn't even changed out of her dress. Or rather, _Natsume's_ dress.

"S-sorry Hotaru..." Mikan muttered apologetically and in a vain attempt to be humorous, Mikan ran her finger across her mouth as if she was zipping it and breaking the zip off. Hotaru's blank gaze did not waver and Mikan slowly sat down on the edge of the large bed, embarrassed.

Sighing, Hotaru sat beside her and put her hand on Mikan's, making the brunette smile at Hotaru's rare warmness towards her.

"No apologies needed. But I'm curious as to why you came to my house like a madwoman on steroids."

-Scoff from Mikan-

"I did _not_!"

Silence.

"Okay, maybe I was a little weird today but I have a reason for it!"

"Elaborate then."

"okay Hotaru...but don't be angry at me..."

And so Mikan babbled on to explain how she got into detention, which was because she accidently missed class by like 5 minutes since she overslept, and how she was kidnapped. While Mikan talked at a rapid speed, her facial expressions changing just as rapidly, Hotaru only listened and drank coffee from a mug Mikan could have sworn had not been there before. But then again Mikan was to absorbed in her story to really pay attention.

When Mikan got to the part about her punching Natsume, Hotaru's mouth twitched upward before her face went back to its usual expression. She had yet another damage control situation caused by yet another 'Mikan moment'.

"And then I somehow ended up here instead of at me and grandpa's house. I dunno why I came here...I just...guess that I somehow felt this was the best place to be right now."

Sadness and regret etched over Mikan's now make-up clear face, she scrubbed it off on her way there, and she realized that she shouldn't have come. What if Hotaru was too busy? It wasn't like Hotaru could come at Mikan's every beck and call...

But Hotaru didn't seem to mind much. In fact, she was thinking up a storm right now.

No one knew it but Hotaru actually had ties with Natsume's family, so they had met before. And Hotaru, being the observant girl she was, had managed to figure out some things about him. Blackmail worthy things. But she doubted blackmail would sober him up enough so she had to think of something else.

By the time Mikan had realized Hotaru was more silent then usual, the dark haired girl was already scribbling something down on paper and walking around the room, searching through drawers, scanning papers...

"Hotaru?" Mikan asked, confusion clear in her eyes.

"Ah ha," Hotaru muttered, ignoring Mikan, and she held up a large binder that had been hidden underneath several other things in her desk.

Mikan didn't have time to ask Hotaru what she had found before the inventor had left the room, not bothering to close the door.

"What the...'

* * *

**Once again at the Hyuga Mansion...**

Aoi was many things.

A psychopathic, murderer, and egoist could be part of that list.

But at the same time; Loyal, caring, and kind could ease their way into the list as well.

You could call it a split personality disorder, or you could just say she was bipolar.

But despite it all, Aoi cared deeply for those who were close to her. Natsume included even though he was more stubborn then she liked. Their mother was in africa someplace right then, so Natsume had found a large guestroom and told Aoi she could sleep there. He left her alone after that really, since he had plenty of other problems to deal with.

But not before he gave her a list of rules she had to follow, or else.

She had smirked at the off hand threat but had not retorted as she knew Natsume could be set off at the smallest thing. He was like a timebomb, ticking away and just waiting to explode.

RULE 1#

_Do not bother him while he's working _

RULE 2#

_No hugging and no touching. Any physical contact with him has to be approved.(Aoi knew for a fact she was going to break that rule a lot.) _

Rule 3#

_When at school, do not talk to him or embarrass him in any way._

Rule 4#

_If she has to be near him, stay at least 20 paces away._

Rule 5#

_Do not reveal her past history and do not murder anyone while under his supervision. _

There were plenty of other rules, but Aoi hadn't really payed attention. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to follow any of them anyway...

Taking a quick tour of the mansion, Aoi had decided that nothing had changed since she was a little girl. Some display was different, but it was still cold and lonely like had always been. Her mother had made sure no sign of cheer or happiness was in Aoi's sight.

And the lack of love and affection and color had affected a then young, lonely, and apparently unwanted Aoi.

And now, she was back under false pretenses because of revenge.

Not on Natsume or even her mother. But someone else. Someone who had wronged her much more then anyone else could have.

Of course, she wasn't going to make a move now. That would be naive, and Aoi want naive. She would wait and sneak her way into his life again, seemingly harmless like she always made herself look.

Until then though, she was going to have some fun with Natsume and the girl who had punched him and ran out.

Natsume seemed calm. But Aoi knew better since calm always came before the storm. He was plotting something as always and she decided that she would sidetrack him a little.

"You need a girl to soften you up," She had said before he abandoned her in her large and boring looking room. He had scoffed and said girls were only troublesome and didn't even try to step back and exclude Aoi from that generalisation.

Eventually she had proclaimed that she, Aoi Hyuga, would find the perfect girl for him.

He had laughed. Laughed! And said that she was more stupid then he thought.

But Aoi wasnt stupid. She could tell that the brunette girl got under his skin. And she was going to use it to her advantage.

Life always became more dramatic and wild when she was around. _Always_.

* * *

_**Okay, luckily I managed to finish yet another chapter and I hope you guys havnt given up on me sooo soon ;)**_

_**I have like, 3 or 4 stories I want to update on here and this one is the most hassling. **_

_**Eyes the color of blood needs to be update soon and so does the maid sama and Saver manhwa fanfiction I'm writing.**_

_**Plus I have 2 stories on wattpad I need to update...**_

_**So this story will not be thrown away, just be patient for me 3 and I will deliver! **_

_**Aoi and Hotaru seem like two people who would be friends dont you think? Btw, feel free to ask questions. I'm Planning on doing a little Q and A thing at the end of my chappies. **_

_**Pm me whenever :) **_


	8. Chapter 8:First day Part 1

_**Hello again :) **_

_**Yay, updated in the last 2 days! (happy dance) **_

_**Btw, please check out my other stories if you can :) **_

* * *

_**Opposite side of the tracks-8**_

"Haha, very _funny_ Hotaru..."

"I'm telling the truth you _idiot_."

_Silence..._

"...But how the hell can it _not_ work right _now_!? We're going to be _late_ for school _again_!"

Hotaru's violet eyes and thin eyebrow twitched as Mikan began kicking her older brothers blue, expensive mercedes on the hood in anger.

"Stupid car, you start right _now_ or-"

**Baka! Baka! Baka! **

Mikan's face was suddenly bombarded with rubber bullets and she squealed more in surprise than pain as she reeled back, her pigtails flying, as she fell flat on her butt. Clutching her nose, Mikan glared up at an solemn looking Hotaru, who examined the car for scratches.

"You know," Hotaru began after nodding once she realized Mikan's sandals hadn't done any damage.

Mikan got up and dusted off her skirt, turning to listen to whatever Hotaru had to say. Honestly she wanted to skin Hotaru for using her baka gun on her after all these years. Mikan hadnt seen any sight of that thing since they started middle school! Honestly though, nothing could be worse than getting hit by it aga-

"We could always use the alternative."

Scratch that.

Something _could_ be worse than the baka gun.

**Alternative 3000;**

Hotaru's **demon** of a motorcycle.

"..._Please_ tell me I have an option Hotaru..."

"Fraid not."

* * *

Natsume tapped his finger impatiently against his armrest as he waited for his sister to finish getting dressed on the other side of the room. He honestly didn't know why girls had to take so long, all she had to do was put on a _uniform_.

"Are you finished yet?" Natsume growled and his face darkened when Aoi yelled at him to be patient.

"I am being patient you annoying girl!" Natsume yelled back, standing up and marching to the door.

Aoi had proved to be a deep sleeper and trying to wake her up had been hell for him. And now she was taking _forever_ to get ready! Ruka would be there with his car any minute and Natsume wasn't going to keep his best friend waiting.

"Look Aoi, if you don't come out in 5 minutes I _swear_-"

"_Natsume_, why don't you just go to school without me! I can walk if you won't even let me take my time. Its _7 AM _in the morning for christ sakes!"

_"Aoi-"_

_"Natsume-" _

Just as Natsume was about to blow, a loud car engine and screech of tires was heard outside the hall window. Knowing it was Ruka without even having to look, Natsume glared at the dressing room door before scoffing.

"FINE! Walk for all I care because I'm leaving!"

Muttering to himself, Natsume zipped his leather jacket halfway as he strode down the stairs and walked out the door, where a smiling blond was waiting. Leaning against his car, Ruka grinned at Natsume and opened the car door.

Ruka's usually straight blond hair was in a short ponytail(It had gotten longer) and like Natsume he wore black jeans and a T shirt. His small bruise from the day before was gone and he hadn't questioned Natsume once about who had been falling from his house.

It was actually a sore subject between the two.

"What's with the sour look Natsume?" Ruka laughed as they both entered the car, Natsume taking the passenger seat without a second thought.

"I forgot to mention, but Aoi's back and as annoying as ever." Natsume replied indifferently and leaned back in his seat, trying to relax.

Ruka frowned and his blond eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Aoi...?"

Natsume rolled his eyes and smirked at a now disturbed looking Ruka, who was staring past Natsume and at the mansion.

"You know, my sister? The girl you followed around like a _puppy_ when we were kids?"

Ruka's neck and cheeks flushed and he started the car before turning to glare at his best friend. Of course he remembered Aoi! Along with Natsume, Aoi had been the only kid his age he had talked to. And they had gotten even closer when they turned 15. But something happened, Ruka wasn't sure what, and Aoi had frantically called him one night, saying she needed him to come meet her at the park separating their neighborhoods.

That day had been the worst day of his life...

"Ruka stop daydreaming and drive!" Natsume's deep voice interrupted his reverie and Ruka blushed again, and set his foot on reverse when a squeal came from inside the house. Both Natsume and Ruka had a look of pure surprise on their face as Aoi rushed out the front door.

'What the hell did she do to her uniform!?' Natsume raged inside his head, glaring intensely as Aoi rushed towards Ruka's car, sweat on her brow.

Her glossy hair was curly and was tied into a messy ponytail with a piece of elastic. She wasn't donned in the usual black cardigan required for the uniform. Instead she only wore the long sleeved black shirt with a sleeveless white jacket. She wore punk stockings under her skirt and high heels.

She looked like an innocent looking version of a Gothic punk singer.

Not noticing the way Ruka tugged at his collar, his eyes shooting in all direction but Aoi, Natsume watched silently as Aoi leaned beside the passenger seat, leaning in the window with a big toothy grin on her beautiful face.

"Hey Ruka!" She greeted with a super sweet fake smile and then turned to Natsume.

"How do I look? It was totally worth the wait right?"

Natsume's red eyes darkened and he looked her up and down, from her skin tight shirt to her overboard stockings. Returning his gaze to Aoi's glittering eyes, Natsume smiled his worst angry smile.

"Like a first class _whore_."

Ruka paled but refused to move his gaze from the road as Aoi's bright look dimmed like a lamp being switched off. She had not been expecting that answer.

"What part of me looks like a slut, huh Natsume? Because I'm starting to think your just being rude for the sake of it." Aoi whispered, her expression cold and expressionless.

_ 'Mastering the poker face like a true Hyuuga...'_ Ruka thought bitterly as he put the car on rest. He had a feeling this argument would be a long one for sure.

But once again, the blond optimist was wrong.

Natsume and Aoi stared into each other's blood red eyes for what seemed forever before they both sighed. Aoi cracked a friendly smile and Natsume gave her his signature smirk. Ruka rolled his eyes, knowing that they had done the sibling telepathic thing again.

"So are you guys driving me to my new school or am I walking?" Aoi asked casually and leaned farther into the car, averting her gaze to Ruka, who met her stare with a blank glance.

"That depends." He replied, sparing a glance at Natsume, who was once again leaning against his chair, his eyes closed.

"On what?" Aoi asked curiously, walking two of her fingers up the dashboard before stopping at the glass.

"On if you can handle my cars speed."

Aoi's curious eyes grew dark and she smirked slyly. Hopping in the backseat and ignoring her seatbelt, Aoi met Ruka's blue eyes in the vanity mirror.

"Try me blondie."

* * *

**"_AAAAAAAAH_!** HOTARU SLOW _DOWN_!"

Hotaru rolled her eyes at Mikan's outburst as they sped down the street, not that you could see them behind her royal purple helmet.

Mikan was such a crybaby. She wasn't even going that fast...

Okay, so maybe 90 miles per hour was a bit fast but it was morning and no one was occupying the streets leading to Alice Arts Academy. So as far as Hotaru was concerned, **Alternate** 3000 was doing her job perfectly.

Mikan clung to Hotaru's thin waist as if her life depended on it, which it actually kinda _did_, and prayed to the heavens that she would still be alive by the time they reached the school. She did not want to die so young, even if Natsume Hyuuga was still alive.

Because as much as she hated to admit it, even with him there, life was still worth living.

...It would just be so much easier if he _weren't_.

_'This is why I hate this stupid motorcycle. Its practically tearing my skin off with how hard the wind is hitting me! Alternate you demon, when I come out of this alive I'll freaking haul you to a junk yard!' _

Almost as if in reply to Mikan's dark promise, the black and purple motorcycle roar grew louder and seemed to go even _faster_.

Mikan moaned in despair and squeezed her eyes shut.

'Think of _rainbows_! Unicorns! Leprechauns with huge pots of gold! _ANYTHING! JUST DON'T PUK_-"

'For the second time, where _here_ Mikan..." Hotaru's voice interrupted Mikan's thoughts abruptly, making the brunette flinch.

Slowly opening her hazel eyes, Mikan suddenly realized that they were currently in front of the school, several people staring at them as they entered the front doors. Frowning, Mikan's arms loosened and eventually after a moment of Hotaru staring disdainfully down at the fingers digging into her stomach, Mikan blushed and let go.

Sliding off the motorcycle, Mikan faintly heard Hotaru mutter something about parking the motorcycle elsewhere before the vehicle sped off and disappeared behind the side of Building A.

The school had 5 buildings and several sections for different sports. Fortunately Hotaru had dropped Mikan off where her first class would take place.

Unfortunately, Mikan would not see Hotaru until Physical Ed. Her least favorite class.

Suddenly feeling woozy, Mikan realized the after effects of Alternates speed was taking its toll. Her face going slightly green, Mikan clenched her hands to her mouth and raced inside the school in search of a dumpster, not noticing the long black ferrari that pulled up.

* * *

"Hey...is that just _Mikan_ Sakura?" Ruka muttered to himself as he pulled up to the front of the schools main building.

Natsume's Crimson eyes flashed open and he sat up, his eyes searching.

Aoi smirked from the backseat and followed Natsume's gaze.

She almost couldn't recognize her because she only saw the back of the schools uniform. But the hair was the same, even though it was in pigtails now. And Aoi could recognize the way the girl ran inside the building frantically.

Just like back at the mansion.

_'What is she running to? Or from?_' Aoi thought to herself, and seeing Natsume's look in the rearview mirror, she could tell he was wondering the same thing.

Aoi chuckled to herself, catching Ruka's attention instantly. Natsume didn't move at the sound, but met Aoi's eyes in the vanity mirror.

"Whats so funny?" He asked in a low voice, his formerly calm aura turning dark.

Aoi met his dark gaze with her innocent one and grinned.

"I'm just excited for my first day is all."

Oh, how true that statement was.

Aoi was literally squirming in her seat in anticipation.

This year was going to be her favorite one yet. She was going to be causing chaos right under her mother's _nose_ and she was going to finally get her revenge once and for all. She hadn't been able to do anything but sit,think, and wait in that cold cell her mother arranged for her. And now she was free to do what she pleased.

It was going to be a fun year _indeed_.

* * *

_**Wonderful! My longest chapter yet! ...I think...**_

_**And btw, have you guys noticed I've forgotten to do a disclaimer? lol XD**_

_**Okay here goes...**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or the characters in it. **_**But I do owe Angel, who I promise will be in the next chapter. Of course :P**

_**There, I did it! Finally...**_

_**Okay, time for some Q and A! XD**_

_**Is the person who broke Aoi's heart Ruka? **_

**I cant reveal that right now, but he is definitely **_**part**_** of why she wants revenge! XD**

_**Who the heck is this Angel you keep mentioning?**_

**An OC I made who I sort of, kind of, based off of my best friend. :p She's going to show up soon so, be ready! **

_**When will they fall in love? Natsume and Mikan I mean? **_

**Not right away. But I promise it will happen!**

_**Any love triangles besides Mikan and Natsume gonna happen? **_

**Of course ^.^ **

_**Your so talented! I love this story! Its cliche in a way, but yet so original! Um, anyways, question! When will other characters like Permy, Youchi, Luna or any other characters in the anime show up? **_

**D'awww! Thanks, your so sweet XD Soon, I promise. And yeah, I kind of wanted to twist around a cliche story line so...lol. And verrrry soon! I cant just focus everything on the 5 of them!(Natsume, Aoi, Mikan, Ruka, Hotaru...) **

_**Are your from Japan? **_

**Lol, sort of random. But nope, I'm from America and part NA and african american XD I kinda look like my avatar...**

_**I hope Hotaru will be badass in this story! Badass Hotaru is so cool! **_

**Ikr! Yup, I'm certainly going to make Hotaru badass. Badass _kid _Hotaru means badass TEEN Hotaru! XD**

**Alrighty, lets wrap this chapter up and I'll see you on the next chapter!  
Peace out! XD (Always wanted to say that...)**


	9. Chapter 9:First day part 2

_**Hello again :) **_

_**Angel FINALLY decided to make an appearance! XD **_

_**Make sure to tell me what you think of her :p**_

**_(Go to my profile and go to the link labeled next to: ANGEL. Thats what she looks like, sort of...the hairs long in that though.)_**

* * *

_Angels come in all shapes and sizes. And most of the time, they tend to show up in the most unexpected places..._

_**Opposite side of the tracks-9**_

In Mikan's defense, she was initially not responsible for the problems that occurred in her daily life.

And though it may be a little late to explain, I'll do it anyway.

Mikan Sakura was born during an affair between Yuki and Izumi Yukihara. At the time, Izumi had been the heir to Yukihara Corp and his fiance happened to be Alani Koizumi(sound familiar?), also a heir, to the Domokou exporting business.

Now, don't jump to conclusions. Izumi had been fully prepared to take Alani' as his wife, despite his hate for arranged marriages, and he had never even dreamed of looking at another woman after he married.

So when he was planning to go out for the night, and ran into a very tired, very drunk Yuka, he didn't think twice about bringing her to his home. He hadn't been planning on doing anything to her. He hadn't even really payed attention to the fact that she was a pretty girl. His dedication to pleasing his parents and forming an alliance between his future empire and another powerful one, had made him think himself above that.

But he forgot that when someone's drunk, they tend to be a little crazy.

His first mistake actually.

When a wasted Yuka woke up, still drunk, to see a strange man with a suit hovering over her, she went berserk.

She did not know that the 'strange man' had just saved her from the risk of being alone at night and running into some _real_ thugs. And that the only reason this strange man was hovering over her, was to put a cloth on her forehead.

Not alerting Yuka of this was his _second_ mistake.

She screamed, thrashed, yelled, and all the while Izumi desperately tried to calm her down. He barely registered that she had been screaming 'Rapist' and 'Deflowerer' the whole time. which was another mistake on his part because his mother and several maids had rushed to his room and barged in.

And what they saw shocked them to no end.

The position the two young people were in was futile to explain. Izumi was nearly straddling Yuka, who was still thrashing around until the door opened, and his hand was over her mouth. The fact that Yuka was wearing a very revealing outfit, regards to her very stubborn partying friend who ditched her for a bishie, did not go unnoticed.

Worrying for their reputation, Mrs. Yukihara did the only thing she _could_ do besides calling off the wedding.

She attempted to bribe Yuka to keep her mouth shut.

Unbeknownst to her, a then very rebellious Yuka didn't appreciate being bribed. So instead, Yuka caused a scandal that erupted all over Japan.

And gave birth to Mikan in the process.

_(More will be explained later, this amount of info was kinda required before crazy stuff begins to happen. And no, Mikan doesn't know about her parents history.)_

* * *

**Alice Academy: Building A**

Mikan clutched her stomach as she finished emptying the contents of her early breakfast into the closest trashcan she could find.

She ignored the snickers and disgusted looks of the student body as they passed her, all of them rushing to their classes.

_'Is she serious?'_

_'My god, she had no dignity!'_

_'Just ignore her, we have to get to class. Her fault if she's late.'_

It barely registered to Mikan that she also should be hurrying to class, seeing as the school bell had rang for the second time. In 5 minutes it would ring again, and if she was late a second time...

Mikan decided not want to think about that. Sighing, Mikan walked to the restroom after the last of her breakfast was gone.

After washing out her mouth in one of the sinks, Mikan glanced up and blanched at her appearance.

Her face was pale, her eyes were bloodshot, and her pigtails were a mess.

_'Hotaru would be laughing her arse off if she saw me now. More reason for her to ride by motorcycle each day,'_ Mikan thought in amusement and splashed water on her face before walking out of the bathroom and walking to her locker, which wasn't very far.

Courtesy of HSP, the schools nickname for their principal, who had thought it would be more convenient if her locker was by the entrance.

Spinning the lock until she reached her combination, Mikan pulled open her locker and was about to grab her books when she saw it.

Mikan's jaw dropped and she froze in disbelief.

* * *

**Building A Indoor Parking Lot**

A blood curdling scream sounded through the entire building and parking lot, birds taking flight in panic.

Stopping abruptly from opening Ruka's car door to enter her new school, Aoi's eyes narrowed and she gazed over at the school in curiousity. Natsume didn't even flinch from his spot beside one of the large white pillars where he leaned against.

But Ruka, who was only a foot away from his car, froze like every person within 20 feet did to listen.

Slowly turning to meet Aoi's gaze, Ruka raised an eyebrow.

"What was that...?'

* * *

**Back to Building A...**

Mikan once again was leaning over a trashcan, puking her guts out.

Only it wasn't because of a motorcycle ride. Ohhhh no, it was much worse than anything Alternate 3000 could stir up.

Okay, maybe that wasn't true. But thats how Mikan perceived it at the time.

Inside of her locker, her obviously wrecked locker, beside her books and lying on top of her notes...

Was a dead mouse.

Now, if it had been killed recently, then Mikan might have overlooked it as another prank the evil student body had picked out for her, in defense against their _Oh, so perfect_ leader, Natsume Hyuuga.

But it was literally rotting, flies swarming, and its stomach was slit open. A little sticky note was attached to its leg.

_'Hope you like our present,'_ was scrawled in pretty, cursive little letters and Mikan would have smiled at the delicate lining if it hadn't been so crude.

It looked even worse than it sounded by the way.

And Mikan, not really one to stomach gory things like that, was once again emptying out the contents of her stomach.

Unfortunately there was barely anything left, so Mikan resorted to gagging.

It was quite humiliating, now that she thought about it.

Luckily for her, the third bell had sounded, and everyone was already in their classes.

Well...almost everyone.

"Are you...okay...?" A soft, cautious voice sounded from behind a kneeling Mikan, and the brunette glanced at the owner of the voice, her expression grim and pained from her heaving. She felt exhausted and a little bit angered right then.

And who could blame her? Now she had to confiscate everything in her locker and get a new lock _again_.

The first time being when Natsume had invaded it, or rather his fan girls, and gave her his signature red card.

_'Ah, the good ol' times...'_

Suddenly remembering someone had asked her a question and was currently waiting for an answer, Mikan shook her head to clear her thoughts and focused her gaze on the girl, she realized the voice was feminine now, who had spoken.

Looking concerned and free of any dirty intentions, the girl met Mikan's stare with a wary smile.

Mikan knew instantly then that either this girl was stupid, not from around there, or was taking her chances since the hall was currently empty.

Mikan was right to assume these things because, honestly, the girl was gorgeous.

You might ask why this mattered.

Well, then allow me(The author :p) to explain.

In Alice academy, students targeted by the E4(Elite 4, I know very stupid), were either avoided or harassed.

Only very unpopular or unattractive students took the chance of actually associating with them. But even this was rare.

So, a seemingly gorgeous and wealthy girl speaking to Mikan other then to insult or beat down Mikan would usually be highly suspicious.

Mikan should know obviously, because Luna Koizumi made sure she knew. Every day between classes in fact...

But back to the matter at hand.

Mikan, after wiping off the germs that occupied her chin with her uniforms sleeve, slowly stood and faced a very exotic, very innocent looking young female student who obviously looked very shy and scared out of her wits.

Clearing her throat in a weak attempt to clear the awkward silence, Mikan stared silently at the dark haired girl, who stared back quietly.

She was definitely _not_ japanese.

Though some students weren't from japan and attended Alice academy, it was still rare for Mikan to meet or even actually see one.

This girl was dark, as in literally _dark_.

Her skin was the shade of royal bronze, a dim glow radiating about her in a way Mikan would have envied if she were in another school.

Her hair was was a fashionably dark brown pixie cut on one side, and reddish brown, long, and curly on the other. Her eyes were jade green and she was tall, nearly a head taller then Mikan. Mikan decided then that even though the girl wore the Academy uniform, the girl was not from around Alice Plaza, the title for the upper east side of the town.

"Um..." Mikan began cautiously, and glanced down at her hands.

The girl looked up expectantly only to be disappointed when Mikan's voice drifted off into silence.

The girls eyes were so intimidating and practically glew! Mikan punched herself mentally for looking like an idiot just because of a girls eyes.

Hotaru's eyes were just as odd so why...

Knock it off Mikan!

"U-um, sorry. I just...I'm n-not feeling w-well and..." Mikan stuttered and blushed in embarrassment when the girl smiled knowingly.

"Ah ha, you're sick eh? I have vitamins if you need...them..." The girl rubbed her arm awkwardly when Mikan gave her an odd look.

Okay, this was getting weird.

Sighing in frustration, Mikan straightened her posture and put on an award winning smile. Well, it was the smile she used when she wanted the last Howalon in Hotaru's pantry jar...but it was the best she could do.

"I'm fine actually, thanks for offering though...Um, can I ask you a question?"

The girl smiled graciously and nodded, signaling that Mikan had her okay.

"Are you new here by any chance?"

* * *

**Building B: Cafeteria **

"Aoi, I love your hair! Its so curly and...uh...shiny!"

"...Thanks..."

The blue haired girl who had payed Aoi the compliment smiled brightly at the fact that Natsume's sister was speaking to her.

Aoi on the other hand, had to force her smile.

This was the 15th time someone had complimented her hair, and the 31st time someone had complimented her at all. She should know because she had counted. Not only that but Ruka had commented on it seconds after the girl had walked away.

It was infuriating.

Aoi didn't mind attention. She actually adored attention. But too much of a good thing was a bad thing and Aoi was at the point where she would do almost anything to find a quiet place where no stupid fangirls, or boys, could reach her.

Almost as reading her mind, Tsubasa, another friend of Natsume's who was part of his precious _entourage_, leaned towards her, and Aoi once again let her gaze linger on the star 'birth mark',as he claimed it was so, on his cheek.

"Follow me," He whispered softly in Aoi's ear, and she flinched at his cool breath.

Someone was eating way too many ice cream sundaes.

Aoi felt almost offended at the violation of her space, but realizing that this Tsubasa, who had proven to be very goofy and rather kind, was innocent in his attentions, Aoi obeyed. After all, what could be worse than being bombarded with her older brothers fans?

Not giving a second glance to Natsume, who seemed to be mulling over something as 3 older girls tried to catch his attention, Aoi let Tsubasa take her hand in his large one and lead her out of the cafeteria.

Aoi had never stepped inside Alice Arts Academy before that day, so she didn't know Tsubasa was taking her to his most treasured and private place in the school.

Of course, once Aoi reached it, it would become her favorite place as well. She just didn't realize it at the time.

* * *

_**Yayyyy, another long chapter! XD **_

_**Angel was kind of suspicious and shy in this chapter, but the next chapter will show her true, and drool worthy, personality. **_

**_Can't_**_** wait! **_

**Q and A**

_**Will they have alices in this story?**_

**Sorry, but no...the first chapter might have made it seem like it, with Natsume setting the office on fire and all. But that was with a match...sorry if thats disappointing to you all! I had honestly considered it, but it wouldn't have fit. **

_**Will Aoi and Mikan meet? Will they be friends?**_

**Yup and maybe! :p**

_**Who will realize their feelings first? Mikan or Natsume? **_

**Look at the prologue! Its sort of obvious and right out there, lol. But just in case you need confirmation, Mikan probably will. :p **

* * *

**Sneak peak at the next chapter!**

**Dodge ball wars:**

_Mikan pushed Angel out of the way as the next dodge ball shot past, knocking a short girl with glasses down in her place. _

_"Thanks, but I could have dodged myself," Angel muttered grumpily but smiled softly afterwards to show Mikan she was grateful. _

_Dusting off her plaid gym shorts, Mikan leaned down and pulled Angel to her feet, both of them realizing at the same time that they were the last ones, besides Luna, standing on their side of the gym. Hotaru and Anna stood silently beside the rest of their fallen team mates. _

_Which meant..._

_"Mikan, look out-" Angel called, and tried to push Mikan out of the ball's path. Mikan tried to turn her head to see but was suddenly shoved out the way. _

_A sudden pang erupted through Mikan's skull and she fell to the ground, her pigtails flying and her breath caught in her throat. _

_'Ow...'_

_Slowly opening her eyes, Mikan glanced up cautiously, expecting her to be disqualified. But what she saw made her jaw drop. _

_Luna had pushed both Mikan and Angel to the side and caught the ball in her hands, a grim frown on her face. _

_'What!?'_


	10. Chapter 10: Dodge ball wars!

_**School, feeling sick to my stomach, and having really bad headaches is only the least of my problems...**_

_**-Me**_

* * *

_When you're faced with a challenge, take a moment to decide if its worth it._

_**Opposite side of the tracks-10**_

* * *

"Tenshi eh? So your name means Angel..." Mikan said softly and the green eyed girl beside her grinned.

Mikan and Angel, or Tenshi if you wanted to stay traditional, had been getting to know each other for the past 2 hours seeming as Angel's schedule matched Mikan's for the most part. Angel had proved to be really funny and intelligent. Though she seemed to be overconfident as well.

Proof of that was when Angel humiliated their history teacher when he noticed Angel was daydreaming and told her to answer a question they hadn't even studied yet. Angel had smirked and had stated the victories of the Meiji emperor with ease, surprising not only the teacher, but the class because she had given off the vibe that she was...well, an airhead.

Mikan would take note not to make assumptions about Tenshi, er Angel, anymore.

"What's your next class?" Angel asked as they strode down the hall, arm in arm.

Mikan noticed that people were starting to stare, and realized that she hadn't told Angel about her reputation. Biting her lip, Mikan wondered if she should keep quiet about it. She had just gotten a new friend, no offense to Hotaru, and she didn't want to lose her so quickly.

But at the same time Mikan didn't want Angel to fall victim to Natsume because of her.

"Mikan~," Angel drawled, nudging Mikan's shoulder playfully, and Mikan flinched.

"U-um, sorry Angel-chan...It looks like I have art next and then gym..." Mikan groaned when she realized this.

She hated that class. Not only did she share it with Natsume and Luna, her arch enemy, but for some time now the real gym teacher had been sick, so the science teacher; Jinno, had taken over.

He had made it very clear he wasn't fond of Mikan. At _all_.

"Mikan, you've been drifting off a lot for quite some time..." Angel once again broke through Mikan's thoughts, and the brunette blushed.

"Yeah, sorry. Um, Angel chan-"

"Just Angel,"

"Oh, well then. Angel, I forgot to tell you-"

"_Well,_ look who it is girls, Mikan Sakura is still roaming the halls. How _stupid_ of her."

Mikan and Angel both looked up to see a tall, thin, blond girl staring at them with raised eyebrows. She wore the school uniform yet still managed to make herself look seductive, and Mikan instantly recognized the beauty mark under her bottom lip.

Luna koizumi and her entourage, Sumire 'permy' Shoda, and most impressively; Nobara Ibaragi, stood in the center of the hall, blocking the two girls from leaving.

Mikan met Luna's icy blue eyes calmly before glancing over at Nobara, who refused to look at her.

Mikan sighed and sidestepped Luna, fully prepared to run with Angel in tow if things got out of hand.

"Not right now Luna, go bother someone else." Mikan muttered and avoided looking over at Angel, who looked uninterested and nonchalant, seeming as it was obvious at first glance that Luna wasn't something to be trifled with.

"Not until you introduce me to your friend, I mean she must be _very_ brave if she hangs out with _you _of all people."

Mikan paled once she realized where Luna was headed and glanced out the corner of her eye at Angel, who was now frowning at the tone of Luna's voice. She was getting suspicious, Mikan realized.

"What are you talking about? Mikan's the first girl I met here, of course I'd hang around. Besides, its none of your business who I am." Angel muttered, her dark green eyes glancing at Mikan oddly before narrowing at Luna.

The blond looked Angel up and down in disapproval and stood still for a moment. Obviously not liking what she saw, the next thing Mikan knew, Luna had grabbed hold of Angel's collar and jerked her head up, nearly strangling the taller girl.

"Luna!"

Both Mikan and Sumire stared surprised at the blond's sudden change of attitude and Nobara quickly stepped closer, grasping Luna's arm. Luna didn't even spare Nobara a second glance and only tightened her grip on a frozen Angel, who stared down at her blankly.

"Let _me_ explain something to you _sweetheart_," Luna hissed, venom very evident in her voice.

"You don't _question_ me. New or not, you're about to learn _why_ Mikan's a bad _friend_ for you to have!"

Now people were really staring, and a crowd had surrounded the 5 of them.

_'Oh my god, is Luna going to start a fight!?'_

_'She must have insulted Natsume...'_

_'No, idiot! She's with Mikan Sakura! _

_'How stupid of her..."_

_'Poor girl, being dragged into Mikan's business.' _

Mikan glared at the crowd, hushing some of them in the process, before turning towards Luna, who seemed to be very satisfied that she had caught attention. Hardening her glare, Mikan vaguely noticed that she was _choking_ the girl! Angel's face had turned bright red and she looked like she was trying to say something, but couldn't.

Memories flooded Mikan's head. Anna Umenomiya, the first girl to even smile at Mikan when she'd entered the school. Shared lunches, sleepovers, overnight movie premieres. All of that ended when Luna got ahold of her.

The pinkette had slipped into a coma for 3 months and when she finally got better, Anna had refused to look at Mikan, ending their friendship silently.

Nonoko, Tobita, Yura and lastly Nobara. They had all been warned away or punished for being with Mikan after Natsume declared war on her. Hotaru had been the only one who was out of their league to touch.

That day when Mikan had opened her locker, and saw that red card hanging down, and the single black rose. She hadn't known that those two things, those two dreadful things that were guaranteed to change your life for the worse, were going to put so many lifes in danger because of her.

Mikan had learned quickly that these kids were _serious_ when they wanted you to know your place.

Realizing what Luna was trying to do, Mikan stepped towards them in panic.

"Luna, don't!

* * *

**Building B: Hidden storage room/balcony**

"Its cold in here..." Aoi muttered, and shivered after her comment, proving her point.

Tsubasa laughed in response and slid off his jacket, tossing it to the younger girl before walking towards the outdoor balcony outside of the small room.

The room was dark and almost gloomy with its gray walls and faded white carpet. A large counter topped with several empty dusted bottles and containers stood on one side of the room, and a coffee table with 3 chairs stood on the other. The only thing Aoi liked about the room was the balcony, as it was the only source of light for the room, and it also faced the large garden display and a lake.

Aoi wondered if Tsubasa came there often.

"Do the teachers know about this place?" Aoi asked after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

The blue haired teenager turned his head to the side, not moving from his spot against the gate of the balcony. He almost looked surprised that Aoi had spoken, and Aoi dismissed it, assuming he had been thinking about something.

"No, they don't. No one does actually. Thats why I come here when I need to be alone..."

Aoi stared at his back for a moment before slowly lowering herself to the floor and leaning her back against the wall.

"Then, if its a place you wanted to keep a secret, why did you bring me here?" She asked, her tone casual but her eyes were literally boring into Tsubasa's back.

His answer surprised her. So much that she didn't say anything the whole time they were there afterwards.

"Because I can see right through you Aoi Hyuga. You're not the innocent little girl you want everyone to think you are. You _took_ Misaki from me."

At that very moment the bell rang.

* * *

**Building B: Cafeteria**

"Hey, have you seen Aoi?" Ruka suddenly asked as the bell sounded throughout the school and students began emptying out their food.

Natsume looked up from his position between his younger cousin Yoichi and a girl who was leaning way too close for comfort. Glancing at the seat where Aoi had been sitting before, Natsume's eyes narrowed when he realized Tsubasa was gone too.

Even though Tsubasa and Natsume had a long, very tense, and bitter relationship, they had managed to call a truce this year.

But that didn't mean Natsume liked him.

"How should I know..." The raven haired boy muttered and pushed the girl beside him, who was now literally blowing in his ear, away from him.

God, his fan girls were _annoying_.

"Well, shouldn't you be, you know, looking after her? Don't you know how many enemies you have?" Ruka replied anxiously, and Natsume blinked twice at his best friends sharp tone.

_'What's up with him?' _

"You may think Aoi's fragile, but she's a lot stronger then she lets on Ruka." Natsume said softly before taking Yoichi by the hand and walking towards the exit.

His next class was gym and he wasn't going to be late. Jinno apparently had it in for him these past few weeks. Just because it was september and the year was just starting, didn't mean that the teachers were going easy. It didn't help that last year Natsume had not been the best student...

Ruka stared after Natsume for a moment, his blue eyes frustrated, before letting out a groan and trotting after the two.

No one ever took him seriously...

* * *

**Building B: Nurse's office **

Mikan stared in disbelief at Luna, who was literally moaning in pain on a medical bed in the nurses office. She still couldn't wrap her head around the events that had occurred in the hallway and honestly, any normal person wouldn't be able to.

One minute Luna was strangling Angel in front of tons of kids, and then the next minute Luna was kneeling on the ground, clutching her stomach.

It had taken Mikan 5 _very_ long seconds to realize Angel had kicked Luna _very_ hard in her abdomen, and Mikan couldn't help but pity Luna because Angel just happened to be wearing sharp heels.

'Permy', Mikan's nickname for Sumire because of her curled hair, stood beside Luna's bed and looked pale and nervous. Mikan couldn't blame her really. The ESP, a very strict principle who ruled over the entire school but only watched over elementary, had been paying a visit that day...

And just happened to run across the misfortunate scenario.

And now he was lecturing a very bored looking Angel in the corner of the room.

"Sweetheart, you've got to get up now." An elderly nurse whispered softly to Luna, and Permy immediately bent down to help.

Luna winced as she slowly sat up and lifted her legs over the bed, but her face hardened when she saw Mikan close by. Before she could say anything though, the ESP and Angel walked over, both of their faces blank.

The man, who Mikan had deemed as handsome when she first saw him, had a steel grip on Angel's arm and his face was like calm before the storm. Mikan, Luna, and Permy watched him silently, all of them evidently nervous.

"You three," He began, referring to everyone except Permy, "Will have detention after school. But for now, I'm letting you go."

Mikan sighed in relief and looked to Angel, hoping to see her smile. Mikan stilled when she saw the cold look on Angel's face and still stared uncertainly when she replaced it with her usual calm, happy look. The ESP continued and Mikan averted her gaze to look up at him.

"From the files I've been given, it seem that all four of you have physical Ed next. Hurry along and don't get into _anymore_ trouble..."

His voice lingered and Mikan could literally hear the_ 'or else...'_ vibe he was giving off.

_'I don't care if he's handsome, this guy is scary!'_

* * *

**Building D: Gym**

"Okay, so today we're going to be doing a set of dodgeball but...Oh, it seems that we have some latecomers today!"

Narumi sensei and the entire class turned to watch Mikan, Luna, Sumire, and...some other girl with weird hair, walk into the large gym. Natsume looked up from his place beside Aoi, who he had just scolded for disappearing, to watch Mikan.

She was holding the hand of some girl with a weird haircut who would've been pretty if she didn't have a sour look on her face. He barely even glanced at Sumire or Luna, which would have broken Sumire's heart if she wasn't so focused on helping Luna stand upright.

It was really a sight to behold; Luna and Mikan within 50 feet of each other and not clawing the other like pissed off cats.

Turning to whisper something to Ruka, Natsume raised an eyebrow when he saw the blond was muttering angrily to himself about...

_Red eyed baka's? _

Smirking in amusement at how odd everyone was acting, Natsume faced forward once more.

* * *

Luna was fuming on the inside and who could blame her?

Some freakish new girl had actually laid hands, or feet, on her! Not only that, but she had stood up for Mikan Sakura in _front_ of everyone. If this wasn't a breach of her authority, then Luna didn't know what was.

Pulling Sumire's arm off her shoulder, Luna walked near the back of the gym to listen to Narumi sensei, who explained that Professor Jinno had to make an errand that day, so he was going to take over. Luna drifted off in the middle of the bishie looking teachers droning.

She was sick and tired of Mikan Sakura walking freely around the school like she owned the place.

It was a blow to her pride when Luna had realized who Mikan's mother was, but she was literally seething when the girl captured Natsume's attention! The man may have acted like he hated her, but Luna knew better. His eyes said it all.

Nobara had said a long time ago that Luna liked to make something out of nothing, but Luna was for real this time.

She was going to make Mikan Sakura wish she were _dead_.

* * *

"Alright, you all will form a circle and count 1,2,1,2. Ones will be on the first team, Two's on the other!" Narumi instructed, his usual grin adorning his face.

Most of the students beside Natsume, Aoi, and Luna rushed towards the center of the room, kids pushing and shoving and shouting chaos.

It literally took 5 minutes for them to make a perfect circle.

Mikan realized with dismay that she sat nowhere near Angel _or_ Hotaru, who hadn't even glanced at Mikan since entering the gym.

Instead, she was squashed between a girl with green hair tied into a bun and a girl with blood red eyes who looked a lot like Natsume Hyuuga.

Mikan suddenly remembered that the girl had bumped into her when she was running out of Natsume's mansion, along with some blond girl who actually looked like a high school student now that Mikan thought about it. Glancing out the corner of her eye, Mikan noted that she was gorgeous.

_'Just like every other snobby rich person.' _

Sighing, Mikan buried her face in her hands after saying her number, which was 2, and didn't notice Aoi glancing at her in recognition out the corner of her eye.

_'That girl from before...' _

* * *

**_3 minutes later..._**

* * *

"Angel chan! Hotaru chan! We're on the same team!" Mikan shouted in astonishment and happiness.

It was literally a miracle!

Hotaru glanced at Mikan, looking thinner than usual in her gym uniform, and much to Mikan's disappointment, didn't reply.

Angel walked up to Mikan, brushing past Luna who was also on team 2, and smiled a forced smile.

"Hello Mikan...who's this?" Angel nodded towards Hotaru, who gave Angel a once over.

Mikan did not notice the way Hotaru's eyes narrowed.

"_She_," Mikan corrected while walking over to the violet eyed girl, "Is my _bestest_ friend Hotaru!" Mikan hugged Hotaru's arm to herself, only laughing brightly when Hotaru tried to get away.

Luna scoffed at this and went over to the line of balls in the center of the room, observing the opposite team in disgust.

Team 1# apparently consisted of several boys, the only girls being Aoi, Sumire, and a girl with blond braided pigtails. Luna spotted Natsume beside his sister and Ruka, and her cheeks flushed when he glanced at her.

Natsume stared blankly at Luna for a moment, his red eyes bored. Wasn't she that girl who lied to the whole school one time, saying she was his girlfriend? Aoi nudged Natsume, distracting him, and Luna sighed before walking back over to her group.

Narumi nodded approvingly when he saw the two teams were formed, and stood to the side of the room, horn in hand.

"We will only go three rounds today. Natsume will be the leader of Team 1 and Anna will be the leader of Team 2." He called out, shocking most of the students.

Anna Umenomiya blanched at the announcement and flushed when everyone turned to look at her.

Mikan and Hotaru glanced at each other silently and Luna smirked as Anna and Natsume faced each other. Natsume barely even acknowledged the blue eyed pinkett and instead smirked at Mikan, who glared at him with venom.

_'You'd think I was his opponent right now instead of Anna. What's his deal?_' Mikan thought angrily to herself as she stood silently beside Hotaru.

Everyone braced themselves, Angel and Luna both taking positions the closest they could to the balls. Hotaru seemed disinterested and only stared blankly ahead while Aoi and Ruka both stood beside each other stiffly on their side of the gym.

"Ready...begin!"

* * *

Mikan pushed Angel out of the way as the next dodge ball shot past, knocking a short girl with glasses down in her place.

"Thanks, but I could have dodged myself," Angel muttered grumpily but smiled softly afterwards to show Mikan she was grateful.

Dusting off her plaid gym shorts, Mikan leaned down and pulled Angel to her feet, both of them realizing at the same time that they were the last ones, besides Luna, standing on their side of the gym. Hotaru and Anna stood silently beside the rest of their fallen team mates.

Which meant...

"Mikan, look out-" Angel called, and tried to push Mikan out of the ball's path. Mikan tried to turn her head to see but was suddenly shoved out the way.

A sudden pang erupted through Mikan's skull and she fell to the ground, her pigtails flying and her breath caught in her throat.

'Ow...'

Slowly opening her eyes, Mikan glanced up cautiously, expecting her to be disqualified. But what she saw made her jaw drop.

Luna had pushed both Mikan and Angel to the side and caught the ball in her hands, a grim frown on her face.

'What!?'

* * *

"Ouch!" A boy with mousy hair shouted as Natsume's ball hit him right in the face.

Rubbing his nose, the purple haired boy muttered curses and walked defeatedly to the back of the room as Narumi's bell sounded.

This was _bad_.

There were 15 students on each team, and Mikan had thought that her team would have a chance. But now even Anna had been knocked out and there were still 10 people standing on Natsume's team, while there were only 6 on hers. They would be toast by the time this round ended.

Not to mention it was the _last_ round.

Mikan hated to admit it, but besides Hotaru and Angel chan, Luna had knocked most of their opponents among the 5 defeated on Natsume's team. Mikan decided that despite their differences, she needed Luna's agility and iron fist to win.

"Narumi, I call time out!" Mikan shouted just as Natsume's sister Aoi knocked down another one of Mikan's teammates.

The whistle sounded and Natsume caught Mikan's gaze, a smug look on his face.

Mikan didnt give him the satisfaction of glaring at him though, instead she smiled brightly back as if they were the best of friends.

Natsume's smug look faltered as he watched Mikan saunter towards the remains of her team.

"You okay bad boy?" Aoi teased when she saw Natsume's bewildered look.

She had decided to let her hair down since her head was killing her, and she noticed that she was getting alot of cat calls.

_'Boy attention was a lot more amusing then girl attention.'_ Aoi mused.

"Dont call me that Aoi," Natsume muttered and turned to give his team instructions.

Aoi stared at his retreating figure as the team surrounded him, and smirked. Glancing over at Anna's team, Aoi saw that the girl Natsume had been watching was whispering something to a tall blond girl with a beauty mark and an even taller girl who's eyes held something dark, Aoi realized. Dismissing it for the moment, she saw that the girl had long hair on one side and short on the other. Odd...

A girl with short black hair and purple eyes stood beside them but looked bored out of her mind. A second later Aoi saw the girl look up and meet her gaze. Aoi's eyes narrowed when she saw the girl stare at her as if she could see right through her, as if she could read her like a book. Her face heated.

She hated that look.

It was the look her mother gave her.

It was the look _he_ used to give her.

Aoi clenched her fists before averting her gaze from the girls cold violet eyes and turning away. Forcing herself not to look back, Aoi walked over to where Natsume and Ruka stood among her team.

* * *

"Hotaru, are you listening?" Mikan called to the inventor after she managed to get Angel and Luna, much to her surprise, to call a truce with her.

Hotaru looked up from her place on the ground in confusion. She had been to busy thinking about the girl she'd had a staring match with earlier, who Hotaru recognized from Natsume's photo's she'd acquired. Her name was apparently Aoi, and Hotaru mulled over how she'd returned to Japan if she'd been isolated by the most powerful woman in asia.

Hotaru had clearly seen blood thirst in the girls eyes and when she managed to catch her gaze, the girl seemed angered for some reason.

_'Interesting...' _

"Hotaru!? Didn't you hear the whistle, watch out before they-" Mikan's voice stopped abruptly and Hotaru looked up.

Only for her face to be hit with brutal force by a dodge ball.

Hotaru knew before she even fell down who had thrown it. She may have not been aware of her surroundings for a moment, but Hotaru's sharp wit was always at attention. Who else but Natsume's _sister _would do it.

* * *

**5 minutes later**

"...She's not like that you know." Mikan looked at Luna, surprised at the girls deep voice interrupting her raging thoughts.

She had not quite finished cursing the Hyuuga family and she didn't want to stop from glaring daggers into an indifferent Aoi's back.

"What?" Mikan snapped angrily before blushing when Angel glanced at her in surprise.

"I mean...what?" Mikan asked more calmly, noting that Luna didn't seem bothered at all by Mikan's tone.

"Natsume's sister. She isnt usually like that."

"Like _what_." Mikan asked, annoyance lacing her voice as she glanced over where Hotaru sat beside Anna and the rest of their team.

Hotaru looked so _calm_, so lost in thought, and so damn _relaxed_ despite the fact that Natsume's bloody eyed _sister_ had nearly broken her neck!

"You know...heartless? No, careless is the right word. She only does that when someone pisses her off." Luna replied, dodging a ball easily as she spoke.

Mikan picked up a rubber ball and glanced at Luna in confusion before aiming at a plain looking boy on Natsume's team.

She did not miss.

"Hotaru didn't do anything to piss her off. But I'll say it right now, I'm pissed off, and thats enough."

Mikan dodged another ball and ignored the blond, obviously forgetting their truce and obviously hoping to forget their conversation as well.

Luna glared at Mikan silently, obviously annoyed.

"You never _think_ Sakura."

* * *

Needless to say, the game ended with Luna and Natsume as the last ones standing.

The two had hit each other at the same time, so it was a draw.

No one on team 2 seemed satisfied though, and of course Luna and Mikan went back to being enemies straight after.

Mikan was _definitely_ not looking forward to the next class.

* * *

**This is without a doubt the most energy zapping chapter I've written...**

**But I did a good job right? XD**

**I can't do a sneak peak for this chapter, because I've only written the outline so...guess it'll be a sweet surprise! **

**Q and A **

_**When will Natsume and Mikan have another long encounter? **_

**Most likely next chapter, but I cant promise anything. **

_**Luna isnt going to be a huge bitch is she? **_

**It depends really. She was kinda nice in this chapter...**

_**Is Angel going to be good at acting? **_

**Very much so. But dont judge too soon...**

_**Are Tsubasa and Aoi going to date? **_

**Maybe. Maybe not :P **

_**Does Natsume and Aoi's mother treat Natsume as harshly as Aoi?**_

**No. Mostly because he's a son _and _a heir. **

_**Will Aoi be a complete villian? **_

**Depends...do most villains like strawberries and forcing their big brothers to dress up? XD**

**~.~**

**And thats it for today! See you next time! **


	11. Calling in sick Part 1

_**I'm feeling a bit better after reading millions of brilliant stories on FP and listening to music, god I love music, so I did my best to get off my lazy butt and write! Unfortunately its my time of the month, so if this chapters depressing, don't kill me :p**_

* * *

_**Btw, I guess I have to say this. But I have a weak body, so I get sick and tired easy. I didn't use to be like this, but when I was little I used to throw up alot, fall unconscious for days, etc. And I had to be put on medicine for a while. **__**But luckily I'm a little more stable now, its just that I'm the only girl who can work in the house. **_

_**Which means I neglect my health a lot, which means I get ill alot, which means I sometimes forget my stories...**_

_**But I'm going to reassure you again.**_

_**I will never abandon this site or you!**_

_**-Me, your humble cyber lady**_

* * *

_You want so much to be happy, to be loved, to be needed. You want so much for you life to be like a fairytale. _

_But in the end you know that life isn't perfect, though you have to be strong anyway. Be strong for you. _

_Be strong for them. _

_**Opposite side of the tracks-11**_

* * *

After the dodge-ball game in the gym, Mikan and Angel had went to their next class, and everything had seemed alright.

Mikan remembered that it had been unusually quiet, and that the 'beatings' she usually got lessened. At the time she been grateful because that meant Angel might not have to run into anymore '_Luna's_' for a while.

Right after that particular thought though, Mikan had felt a sharp cramp overtake her stomach in the middle of class, alarming Angel and the teacher.

Needless to say, Mikan went home early that day.

And stayed home the day after that. And the next day. And for three more days after that.

When her grandpa took her temperature and she looked up her side effects online, Mikan learned that she had a virus.

'_Wonderful_...'

* * *

Hotaru had not meant to cause a full on invasion to Mikans house that day.

It had started out innocently, with her just being worried and wanting to visit. Yet somehow she had managed to have 5 people follow suit, 5 people who were all on Hotaru's '_Stay the fuck away_' list and radar.

It was friday and Hotaru stood by her motorcycle at the front of the school, her helmet tucked in her elbow and her phone in another.

She'd been texting Mikan every few hours to check on her, but hadn't had the time to visit because she'd been...dealing with a few loose ends the past few days. Of course by the time she realized Mikan had not come to school for longer then normal, she was booked.

But now she was finally free from her duties and worried. Mikan had not texted back at all that day

Which was very peculiar because Mikan had a phone and texted as much as she talked. Which was alot by the way.

Blowing out an exasperated breath, Hotaru tossed her phone in her bag and threw her leg over the side of the motorcycle. Just when she had started the engine and was ready to drive off, Hotaru felt a pat on her shoulder.

Not bothering to turn off her vehicle, Hotaru glanced up to see the girl with the bad haircut standing beside the curb.

All of her hair was braided and trailed to one side, copper and reddish color combined and making her look more formal then she had looked when Hotaru had first seen her. It was no secret that Hotaru didn't trust Angel, but it was also no secret that Hotaru had deemed her not to be a big threat to her.

So they had been on neutral terms for the week they'd known each other.

"Can we go somewhere private?"

* * *

**Nacho Macho Hut(restaurant)**

"What do you mean you're _not_ going?" Natsume growled as his sister picked indifferently at the saucy nacho lying crisply on her plate.

Rolling her eyes, Aoi lifted her head to meet her brothers angry red gaze before lowering it back to her plate again, a hint of guilt in her tone.

"Exactly how it sounded Natsume..."

Not caring that they were in a crowded public restaurant, Natsume stood to his feet and slammed his fist on the table, causing their cups to rattle. This caught the attention of practically everyone in the restaurant and Aoi's eyes narrowed in warning. The closest waitress took a step towards them, looking uncertain.

"Its been an entire week! I gave you time to decide and your so caught up with some stupid boy you fell in love with-"

'_Natsume_!"

Aoi's eyes had widened once she realized where Natsume was headed. She shook her head for him to be quiet and her eyes darted to their 'audience' of curious people. But he didn't stop.

"And your not acting like the Aoi I know! Why cant you just get over it!"

"You wouldn't understand Natsume." Aoi whispered softly so Natsume would have to quiet down to hear her. He rolled his eyes and scoffed before landing on his chair and crossing his arms. The crowd had finally gone back to their business and the waitress came over, asking them if they needed refills.

Natsume ignored her though, and stared silently at Aoi's bowed head before replying.

"This is pointless, trying to get you to come with me. You'd probably just be a liability anyway."

Silence came over them and the waitress coughed uncomfortably before slowly backing away.

Aoi sat still for a moment, her raven hair covering her face, hiding all hints of expression. She was tired, worn out, and slowly beginning to get ticked off. She'd adapted to her new school, avoided that Tsubasa kid to the best of her ability,and was still on awkward terms with Ruka, though they teased each other every now and then.

But Natsume had asked her a question a few days ago, a question that if she agreed to it, she'd have to come face to face with someone she didn't want to see. At least, not while she was still unprepared, not while she was still vulnerable.

Natsume knew she had alts against people, and he knew who they were. But he only wanted to think about his families business, brooding, and chasing some random girl in a skirt. He didn't care if she was having inner turmoil. He loved her, but he didn't care.

_'He doesn't care...'_

"Hello? Did you not hear what I said? You have 5 minutes to eat that thing before we go so-"

Natsume stopped speaking abruptly when Aoi lifted her head to look at him. Her formerly teary crimson eyes were now a dark ruby red. Despite the anger Natsume sensed from her, she was smiling a sickly sweet smile, as if she was incredibly happy.

His voice trailed off and his eyes showed confusion at her sudden change before they widened in recognition. She was pissed off again. Extremely pissed off. Raising an eyebrow, Natsume waited unafraid for her reply, reaction, or whatever outburst or hysterical reaction she was going to do.

She surprised him by doing none of that.

"I'll see you later Natsume." Aoi said softly before grabbing her purse and shoving her chair back.

Brushing past people who stood in her path, Aoi pushed the glass double doors to Nacho Macho open and rushed out into the street.

A silent and surprised Natsume stared after her.

Suddenly cursing, Natsume tossed hundred dollar bills on the table before grabbing his wallet and phone and rushing out after her.

* * *

**Nacho**** Shiro Gasorinsutando(Nacho Castle Gas-station) **

**(Across from Nacho Macho Hut) **

"Are you always this solemn?" Angel laughed as Hotaru finished filling up her Motorcycles tank.

"Hm," Hotaru muttered as she paid for her purchase and slid onto her motorcycle, Angel hopping on behind her.

Usually Hotaru did not ever let anyone but her brother or Mikan onto her motorcycle. But she came to an agreement with Angel after realizing the foreigners mother was in close ties to one of Hyuga's side companies. Angel hadn't known why the violet eyed girl had changed completely when she told her that, but instead of asking, the conversation had led to Mikan.

Eventually, Hotaru had agreed to drive Angel to Mikan's house.

_'Even off duty I'm making deals...' _Hotaru thought sourly before pushing her foot down on the accelerator of her motorcycle. That is, before Angel interrupted her for the second time of course.

"Isn't that the Hyuuga girl from that dodgeball game?

And as if on cue, Hotaru looked up to see the red eyed vixen walking huffily towards them, though she hadn't seemed to spot them yet.

* * *

"Aoi! Get back here!" Natsume's deep, and angry voice, was starting to get closer.

Instead of turning around, Aoi walked even faster, blindly crossing the street towards Nacho Macho's rival, Nacho Shiro.

Forcing her eyes not to water as depressing thoughts began swirling in her head, Aoi tried to put angry thoughts inside instead.

'Think of mother, think of that annoying Tsubasa, think of him!?'

Realizing that he only made her want to cry more, Aoi tried to come up with something else.

Of course when she looked up so she could step over the curb, she found the perfect distraction sitting right in front of her.

"Aoi, what are you-"

"I need a ride old friend," Aoi told the violet eyed girl who only stared at her in silent observation. Another girl with oddly colored brown hair sat behind her and had a weird sort of smile on her face, as if seeing Aoi made her think of something funny. Hotaru glanced up at the advancing male Hyuuga in the middle of the road to the now completely serene Aoi who stared at Hotaru in a manner as if she knew Hotaru wasn't going to refuse.

And Hotaru had to admire the girls audacity even if it was irritating.

"...Fine, squeeze behind Mud braids here and hold on tight."

Angel didn't have time to complain about her nickname before she was pressed between the two thin girls and holding on for dear life as the motorcycle roared to life. The last thing Angel heard before they sped off was a pissed of male voice.

"What the _fuck_ Aoi!?"

* * *

"Natsume, why are you calling? Is something the matter-"

_"Ruka, come pick me up at Nacho Macho right now." _

"Uh... okay Natsume... Are you alright by the way? You sound funny."

_"Just hurry up! I need you to take me somewhere!"_

"...Fine, whatever you say."

* * *

**Alicea: Southern Plaza(Mikan's house) **

"What are you doing out of bed Mikan?" Nonno croaked from his place on the porch.

Mikan, whose hair was ruffled and messy, only smiled wearily.

"Its the weekend so I thought I could water the flowers..." Mikan whispered sheepishly at being caught, and Nonno laughed, his voice dry.

"Go back to bed my flower, your sick and I don't want you getting worse."

"But grandpa, I-"

"No buts. Back to bed and ring the bell I set in your room, if you need anything."

Sighing in defeat, Mikan rubbed her red lined eyes before slowly walking inside of their small brick house. She was so tired of sitting and sleeping! She could _work_, she could _clean_, she could do anything if Nonno would just _let_ her...

Muttering to herself, Mikan walked up the stairs to her room and avoided the week patch of wood she'd fallen in earlier that week. She was definitely going to make their landlord fix that before the week was completely out. The guy was so lazy and expected them to fix everything when the damn place was in horrible shape even before they moved there.

Once she reached her room, Mikan bit her lip. It was a normal size, the walls and floors were creaky and plain. She had several pictures of her, Hotaru, and only a couple of her and some of the few friends she'd had before she transferred.

Her bed was much too big for her and she only had one window. No matter what she did to the place, it was rather depressing in there. Which was why she wanted to get out of the house badly...

_'Gah, my body feels so heavy...' _

Rubbing her throat, which had been sore for 3 days now, Mikan slid off her working pants and jacket until she was in nothing but a camisole and boy shorts. et even so, it felt like a hundred degree's. Sighing again, Mikan was about to close her eyes when she heard a loud roar outside of the house.

Frowning but curious, Mikan tossed her legs over the side of her bed and rushed to the window. What she saw made her jaw drop and her eyes go huge.

"What the hell are they doing here!?"

* * *

Aoi: "Hey Ruka,"

Natsume*_Glaring daggers and not knowing where he is_*:"Aoi, don't you dare ignore me! What the hell are you doing, leaving me and coming to this dump!"

Angel:"Hotaru, isnt this fun?"

Hotaru:"Hm,"

Ruka:"Um, Natsume...why exactly did we come here again?"

Nonno stared at the group of sharply dressed teenagers in awe, and so did several people who had heard the commotion and watched from their houses. Clearing his throat, the old man slowly rose from his chair and descended the stairs from his porch until he stood directly in front of the group.

Looking closely, Nonno recognized Hotaru immiediatly and folded his arms.

"What is going on here young lady?"

At the sound of Nonno's irritated voice, everyone stopped their bickering and looked up at the man in the ratty kimono. Natsume and Ruka glanced at each other in confusion, while Hotaru only made another 'Hmph!' sound. Angel smiled sweetly and Aoi stood indifferently, staring up at the house.

* * *

And as the scene unfolded, Mikan slowly sunk from her place behind the window, moaning in agony.

_'_Why, why, why_, WHY!" _

* * *

**_*Badum Tsp!*_**

**Well, I finally managed to satisfy myself with this scene, though the sixth person hasn't shown up yet. Tell you what, if you can guess who the mystery person is, I'll dedicate a chapter to you, comment on your story of you have one, and give you a cyber cookie! XD **

**If more then one person figures it out, I'll think of something to give all of you... XD **

**Hint: She has a 'bright and yummy' personality. **

**No sneak peek because then you'd get another huge hint and it'll ruin it, ;) **

_**Q and A**_

_**When will Natsume and Mikan kiss?**_

**... X.X That is classified information, but I promise it will. Very soon actually, and in the most inconvenient way...**

**_When will Mikan see her parents? Or are they still living...?_ **

**They are still living and though they will show up, I havnt decided exactly when. **

**_I love Aoi's OC personality, it actually fits her somehow! Though I was wondering if she's actually, you know, mental? Like, bad mental?_ **

**Haha, thanks, I thought it would be a nice contrast, cause a little friction. Um, I wouldnt say so. She's just really all over the place, unpredictable and all. **

**_I want more Natsume!_ **

**I do to! XD Lol, he's going to be making more appearances, lengthy ones, its just I'm trying to squeeze all my idea's into a certain amount of chapters. **

_**Is Aoi's secretary the same Misaki in the anime? **_

**Hmm, just wait and see ;) **

**And once again, I am sorry that I take forever to update these things. *rolls eyes at my laziness.* **

**See you next time people. **


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